Word Count: 949
Average Read Time: 3.5 minutes
1) Thou shalt plan ahead.
This is the simplest yet most powerful of the fat loss commandments. You’ve heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Sit down and plan out your diet and workout program today.
To make this even more powerful, plan for the unexpected so you’ll know exactly what to do when situations arise. What are you going to do if you have to miss a workout? What are you going to do if you’re eating out? What are you going to do if you’re invited to a party?
2) Thou shalt eat fewer Calories.
While oversimplifying just a bit, fat loss (mostly) boils down to Calories in Vs Calories out. The Calories we consume each day is half the equation and it’s the variable we have the most control over.
One pound of body fat contains approximately 3500 Calories of energy. If you eat 500 Calories less than you need to maintain your body weight each day, you will lose approximately one pound per week.
3) Thou shalt lift weights.
Common weight loss advice is to only lift light weights or not lift weights at all and to do more cardio. This is bad advice. Lifting less weights and more cardio will certainly help you lose more weight, but the goal is not to lose weight. It’s to lose fat. Studies show that resistance training (lifting weights) leads to more fat loss and more lean body mass gain. Not including resistance training actually leads to a loss of lean body mass. [1]
RT: Resistance Training, AT: Aerobic Training
4) Thou shalt not adopt an unsustainable diet.
Ask yourself one question before beginning your diet. Can I stick to this diet for the rest of my life? If the answer is “no”, you shouldn’t start that diet. This goes for Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Atkins, Low fat, Carnivore, etc. If you don’t have a plan that is sustainable long term, you will just regain the weight that was lost.
5) Thou shalt not adopt an unsustainable workout program.
Similar to the previous point, ask yourself one question before beginning your workout program. Can I stick to this program for the rest of my life? If the answer is “no”, you shouldn’t start that program. If you don’t have a plan that is sustainable long term, you will just regain the weight that was lost. Learn more about creating a sustainable program here.
6) Thou shalt track thine progress.
Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured, gets managed.” If you aren’t tracking your progress, how do you know if you’re even making any? If you want to know if you’re losing weight, you need to weigh yourself and take waist measurements. (Learn how to do this accurately here.) If you want to know if you’re getting stronger in the gym, you need to track how much weight you’re lifting.
7) Thou shalt eat more protein.
Earlier I said fat loss (mostly) boils down to Calories in Vs Calories out. Well, where those Calories come from also matters. Studies show that eating more protein results in more fat loss and more lean body mass gain. [2][3] As an added bonus, eating more protein helps keep you full, making it easier to stick to your diet.
If fat loss is the goal, beginner weightlifters should aim to eat between 0.8 and 1.2 grams per pound of body weight. Advanced weightlifters should aim to eat between 1.1 - 1.3 grams per pound of body weight.
8) Thou shalt eat more fiber.
The number one issue with sticking to a diet is feeling hungry. If you're constantly hungry, you're going to have to use your willpower to resist the urge to eat. When your willpower reserves run out, the diet goes out the window.
Eating more fiber will make you feel fuller faster, helping to solve this issue. As an added bonus, eating adequate fiber will also improve gut health and lower your Cholesterol. [4]
9) Thou shalt not consume more than 20% of your Calories from junk food.
While fat loss is mostly a numbers game, in order to ensure long-term health, we still need to make sure we meet our micronutrient needs. Interestingly enough, if you’re focusing solely on eating foods that will fit your Calorie, protein, and fiber targets, you will most likely be getting 80+% of your Calories from nutrient dense foods already; however, you should still be mindful of how much junk food you’re eating throughout the day.
10) Thou shalt do cardio (reasonably).
I want you to notice that cardio is the last thing on the list, yet it is the first thing that most people do when trying to lose weight. Cardio is the cherry on top of an already good fat loss program, not the foundation of it.
The primary source of our Calorie deficit will come from reducing our intake and cardio will be added in as needed to increase that deficit. One thing to keep in mind is if you wear yourself down from cardio, you’ll burn fewer Calories for the rest of the day. (Click to tweet this.)
Thank you so much for reading! If you found this information helpful and want to help the Treadaway Training blog grow, simply share this post with a friend. If you like what I have to say, sign up below to become a Treadaway Training insider and get notified for each blogcast and video. I will be back here Thursday with another fat loss topic. As always, God bless you AND your family and I'll see you Thursday.
